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Prasad Bodas
Fremont – Newark – Santa Clara Realty Estate Agent Realtor (Fremont Realty Specialist)
Giving You my Best Fremont Homes Broker/Realtor Services is what I Care Most About….
Read this below article (source: edelmanfinancialengines.com), where 11 Valuable Reasons are sighted to support Carrying a Big, Long Mortgage:
11 Great Reasons to Carry a Big, Long Mortgage
13 Minute Read
Many people misunderstand or misrepresent the benefits of mortgages, and they get the key points wrong. If you read my book The Truth About Money with an open mind, then by the time you finish, you will agree that you should have as big a mortgage as you can get and never pay it off.
Reason #1: Your mortgage doesn't affect your home's value.
You're buying your home because you think it will rise in value over time. (Admit it: If you were certain it would fall in value, you wouldn't buy it — you'd rent instead. In fact, your home's value will rise and fall many times during the next 30 years — you just won't get monthly statements showing you how it's doing.) Yet, the eventual rise (or fall) in value will occur whether you have a mortgage or not. So go ahead and get a mortgage: Your house's value will be unaffected. That's why owning your home outright is like having money buried under a mattress. Since the house will grow (or fall) in value with or without a mortgage, any equity you currently have in the house is, essentially, earning no interest. You wouldn't stuff ten grand under your mattress, so why stash $400,000 in the walls of the house? Having a long-term mortgage lets your equity grow while your home's value grows. Reason #2: A mortgage won't stop you from building equity in the house.Everyone wants to build equity. It's the main financial reason for owning a house. You can use the equity to help pay for college, weddings, and even retirement. Mortgages are bad, many people say, because the bigger the mortgage, the lower your equity. Figure 8-3 shows what happens: By making your payments each month, your loan's balance in 20 years will be just $117,886. This supports the contention that equity grows as you pay off the mortgage and that, therefore, the faster you pay off the mortgage, the faster your equity will grow. But this thinking fails to acknowledge that this is not the only way you will build equity in your house. That's because your house is almost certain to grow in value over the next 20 years. If that house rises in value at the rate of 3% per year, it will be worth $541,833 in 20 years! You'll have nearly a quarter million dollars in new equity even if your principal balance never declines! Mortgages, in fact, are the cheapest money you will ever be able to borrow. (Oh, sure, you can get a credit card that offers 0% interest for six months, but try to borrow a couple hundred thousand for 30 years that way.) You get a loan when you demonstrate you have the ability to repay it. But how much interest will you have to pay? The more confident the lender is that it will get its money back, the less interest it will charge you. By offering your house as collateral, you agree to let the bank have your house if you don't repay the loan. This dramatically reduces the bank's risk, resulting in a very low interest rate. (By contrast, credit cards have no collateral; Visa can't take the sweater you bought if you don't pay the bill. Credit card companies know that a certain portion of their cardholders will default, so they charge 18% to most cardholders. They figure that if a third of the cardholders default, they'll still end up with a 12% return on their money. Not a bad business.) Reasons #4 and #5: Your mortgage interest is tax-deductible. And mortgage interest is tax-favorable.These two points are related, and together they offer you important benefits to carrying a mortgage. The interest you pay on loans to buy, build or substantially improve a qualified residence (up to $750,000) is tax-deductible if you itemize your deductions. The deduction is taken at your top tax bracket. Thus, if you're in the 35% tax bracket, every dollar you pay in mortgage interest saves you 35 cents in federal income taxes. You save on state income taxes too. Say you're in the 32% tax bracket and you get a 5% mortgage. That loan costs you 3.40% after taxes, as shown in Figure 8-4. Meanwhile, say you invest money and earn 5%. Your profits are taxed at only 15%, meaning your after-tax profit is 4.25%. Thus, even if your investments earn no more than what you pay for your loan, you're still making a profit! Reason #6: Mortgage payments get easier over time. Carrying a mortgage actually gets to be fun. Yes, fun. My father used to love to talk about his mortgage — all $98 per month of it. You see, he and my mom bought their home in 1959 for the whopping price of $19,500! Yet, my dad used to tell how his father thought he was crazy. How in the world was my father going to be able to handle such a huge mortgage payment, Grandpop Max asked. After all, my father was earning less than $3,000 a year back then. To spend $1,200 a year on mortgage payments … Grandpop Max thought my dad was nuts! Of course, by the 1970s, Dad was laughing about it. Why? Because his monthly payment in 1974 was identical to what he was paying back in 1959. Yet, Dad's income had risen steadily. Thus, his mortgage payment had become insignificant when compared to his income — not to mention the fact that his house had grown substantially in value. You probably remember struggling to make your mortgage payment when it was new. But over time, that payment becomes cheaper relative to your income — especially if yours is a fixed-rate loan: Payments on such loans will never rise but incomes usually do. Reason #7: Mortgages allow you to sell without selling.Have you noticed that your home is worth much more than it was 10 years ago? You might be worried that your home's value will fall. If you're afraid that your home's value might decline, you should sell the house before that happens. But you don't want to do that! It's your home, after all. You have roots in the community. Uproot the kids? And where would you move? No, selling is not a practical idea. Still, you fret that your home's equity is at risk. Can you protect it without having to sell? Yes! Simply get a new mortgage, and pull the equity out of the house. It's the same thing as selling, except that you don't have to sell! Here's how the idea works: Say you bought a house for $200,000 with no money down (meaning you owe the bank $200,000). Further say that prices have skyrocketed, and houses in your neighborhood have been selling for $500,000. You fear that prices will fall, dropping your home's value to $400,000. If you sell now for $500,000, (Assuming that you can, and ignoring real estate commissions and other selling expenses, and pretending that you still owe the bank the full amount of the original $200,000 loan.) you'd pocket $300,000. But you don't want to sell, so just refinance and get a new loan for $500,000. You now have the $300,000 in hand — just as if you had sold the house! Obviously, this is an extreme example simply to prove a point. I'm not necessarily suggesting you actually get a new mortgage that's two-and-a-half times bigger than your old one – although I might, depending on the situation. And don't forget the tax limitations regarding the deductibility of the large new loan. Borrow the money now, because you won't be able to do so after the house falls in value. Reasons #8 and #9: Mortgages allow you to invest more money and to invest it more quickly. Mortgages allow you to create more wealth than you otherwise would.As I mentioned in Reason #6, people get big mortgages on their first home simply because they don't have a choice. You're excited about buying a house, and even though you don't have much money, you have a good income — two good incomes, if you're like many couples. Some years later, with a growing family, higher incomes, and newfound equity in the house, you're ready to move up to a bigger home. Let's say you net $300,000 from the sale of your old house, and you're ready to buy a new home for $300,000. If you use all of the $300,000 to buy your new home, your monthly mortgage payment would be zero. If you make the smaller down payment of $60,000, your monthly mortgage would be $1,146, assuming a 4% 30-year mortgage. This explains why so many people prefer to make big down payments when they buy houses. A big down payment translates to a small monthly payment (and in our example, the monthly payment would be zero). But the people who are trying to ask you to choose between big monthly payments and small monthly payments are lying to you. Yep, they're tricking you by asking you the wrong question. The correct question is not about the amount of money you want to pay monthly, but the amount you want to invest. Again, it's all about wealth creation, not debt elimination. Here's the question you should be answering: Would you rather invest: $240,000 right now, as a one-time-only deposit or $1,146 a month, every month, for the next 30 years? Obviously, you'd prefer the strategy that results in a higher profit. And Figure 8-5 reveals the answer. Regardless of the time period, investing a large amount now produces better results than investing small amounts over long periods. Thus, while a low mortgage payment lowers your overall expenses, it also lowers your overall wealth. You'll find the money from two places. First, increase your paycheck! Remember that the new loan payments are almost entirely tax-deductible interest. That means you don't need to have as much money withheld from your paycheck. So file a new IRS Form W-4 at work to increase your exemptions; this will reduce the amount of taxes that are withheld from your paycheck, boosting your net pay. Yes — you've just given yourself a raise! And you can use this increased paycheck to help you pay for your new mortgage payment. Second, if your paycheck isn't enough, simply make periodic withdrawals from the investment account you've just created. Soon enough, as your income rises, you won't need this crutch; your income will become enough to handle the cost, as shown in Reason #6. In fact, getting a big mortgage and using investment proceeds to help you make the payment is superior to getting a small mortgage and having no proceeds to invest. This is especially true when you discover the most important reason of all to carry a big, long mortgage… Reason #10: Mortgages give you greater liquidity and flexibility.To help you understand this, let me introduce you to Nervous Nick and Smart Sam.They have the same income and expenses, and are in the 25% tax bracket. Each has $100,000 in cash; each wants to buy a $300,000 house. Smart Sam gets a $240,000 30-year mortgage at 4%. He makes no extra payments. But Nervous Nick takes a different approach. Nick hates mortgages and wants to get rid of his mortgage as quickly as he can. He fears that if he has a mortgage, he might one day lose his house. He doesn't quite understand how that could actually happen, but his granddaddy told him that mortgages are bad, and Nick believes his granddaddy, so he goes with a small mortgage — as small as possible. That means he uses his entire $100,000 in cash to make a down payment. His mortgage is therefore smaller than Smart Sam's — $200,000. Nick, in fact, is so obsessed with getting rid of his mortgage that every month he sends an extra $100 to his lender. He knows that the more he sends in, the faster his loan will be paid off. So, compared to Sam, Nick has a smaller mortgage, a shorter mortgage, a lower interest rate — and he's adding money to each payment. Figure 8-6 shows where the two men stand. Smart Sam's monthly payment is $1,146. Thanks to amortization, almost all of Sam's payment — 70% of it — is comprised of interest. Thus, on an after-tax basis in the 25% federal income tax bracket Smart Sam's payment costs him $946 a month. Meanwhile, Nervous Nick's payment is $1,530 a month. But only 38% is interest. That's because Nick's loan is for 15 years: The shorter the term, the more principal you must pay each month, and principal payments are not tax-deductible (only the interest is deductible). So even though Nervous Nick is paying more per month than Smart Sam, he's deducting less. Nick's after-tax cost, therefore, is $1,384. So for the next five years, Smart Sam makes his monthly mortgage payments. And instead of sending an extra $100 every month to his lender like Nick does, Sam puts that $100 into exchange-traded funds. Then both men lose their jobs. Or perhaps one develops a medical condition, or his wife has a baby and quits work. Whatever the cause, something happens in five years that causes their income to fall or expenses to rise — or both. Figure 8-7 shows Sam's status. Nick's been busy paying down his mortgage; the outstanding balance is only $149,000. But does that matter? The guy just lost his job, but he still has to make his monthly mortgage payment. So it doesn't matter that his mortgage balance is $149,000; what matters is that his mortgage payment of $1,530 is due at the end of the month. This is a real problem for Nick, because with no job, he has no income. He also has no money, because he's given every available dollar to the bank in the form of extra payments. Nervous Nick's nightmare is coming true! He's about to lose his house! Sam, though, is in much better financial condition. Oh, sure, his mortgage balance is higher than Nick's but does that matter? Not at all. What matters is that he has to find some way to make his $1,146 payment. Smart Sam also took advantage of the fact that his monthly payment was $438 less than Nick's; he invested that money too, which is now worth $31,367. And instead of sending $100 a month to his lender like Nick, Sam added $100 to his investments; those investments are worth $7,159. All told, Smart Sam has $94,628. So even though he's out of work, he'll be able to make his mortgage payments for another six years! How ironic that Nick, who wanted to get rid of his mortgage so he wouldn't lose his house, is about to suffer the fate he was so desperately trying to avoid. This fable shows you why it is so important that you minimize both your down payment and your monthly payment. By doing so, you retain more of your money. By keeping control over access to your money, you maintain liquidity. But when you give your money to your lender, you lose control of it. After giving money to your lender, the only way to get your money back is to sell the house — and that's the one thing Nervous Nick does not want to do. This reveals the fatal flaw in the logic of those who lie to you about mortgages. Sure, owning a home mortgage-free is an appealing concept. But it is completely unrealistic! I mean, sure, paying off your mortgage is great — if that's the only thing you need to do with your money. But what about paying for college? Saving for retirement? Caring for elderly parents? Or even just paying for car repairs? | |


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A crown is a custom-made covering that fits over an original tooth that is either decayed, damaged or cracked. Crowns are made of a variety of different materials such as porcelain, gold, acrylic resin or a mix of these materials.
New technologies have greatly reduced the time needed to make strong, natural-looking crowns. Once the procedure is completed, proper care should be taken to ensure the crown remains in good condition and the teeth and gums are healthy. Given proper care, your crowns can last a lifetime!

subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Funky Chocolate Recipes & Chocolate Banana Panini
The first is Barbecued Bananas. There is nothing easier and better, and your dessert will definitely be the hit of any barbecue if you make these. In July I mentioned the Bay Area Bites recipe that also added butterscotch or peanut butter chips to the chocolate chips. A variation.
Another variation on one of these recipes is Lilly's Totally Edible 2-minute Wholemeal Chocolate Cake Miracle. It's a variation on the 5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug that I posted last May. I think the wholemeal self-raising flour will make a slight difference in flavor. I'll try it and let you know.
If you've been reading this blog very long, you know I'm a sucker for anything with bread and chocolate. I've posted a few Chocolate Panini Recipes, including Chocolate Bacon Panini and Chocolate Strawberry Panini, a few chocolate sandwiches for the grill. Pink Bites has an great recipe using homemade potato-buttermilk rolls for Chocolate Banana Panini. What could be better than chocolate and bananas? If you don't have time, I'm sure you can substitute some great potato bread rolls or Italian rolls in this recipe. Brioche would be great, too, with its hint of sweetness. Just don't use an herb or olive bread.
Chocolate-Banana Panini Recipe
makes 2 panini
1 banana
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
chocolate chips (I would use broken high quality dark chocolate)
2 rolls
Peel the banana and slice it lengthwise then crosswise, making 4 pieces. Melt the butter in a skillet and sprinkle it with cinnamon. Add the bananas and cook until they are just browned but still firm, turning once. Set aside, do not clean the skillet (just yet).
Split rolls open and wipe the skillet's butter with them (now you can wash the skillet.). Divide bananas into rolls and top with chocolate chips, as much as you want. Close sandwiches, butter outside of rolls and place on a hot panini maker. Grill them until chocolate has melted.
You can also make this in a skillet, but I love a panini press for the cool lines it makes and the crunchiness.
Don't forget to check out all the other "Funky" chocolate recipes. I would call them innovative, decadent, a bit weird, easy and delicious.
Photo by permission: Pink Bites
Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
Adapted from Epicurious. Original recipe by Joan Colton
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup whole walnuts
1 12-ounce package of chocolate chips
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan; dust with flour.
For topping:
In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and cinnamon, and set aside.
For batter:
Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl and set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until completely blended. Beat in eggs and then sour cream until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Slowly add the sifted dry ingredients, making certain to scrape the sides of the bowl into the mixture. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla. Mix until batter is well blended.
Sprinkle whole pecans on the bottom of the prepared pan. Evenly distribute 1/4 cup of topping in the pan. Fold the remaining topping into the batter until mixed well. Pour the batter into the pan, spread evenly, and bake 35-40 minutes. To test that the cake is done, insert a tester (I use a toothpick) into the center. If the cake is done, it will come out clean, without any batter sticking to it.
Cool the cake for at least 20 minutes in the pan. Once the cake has cooled, put a plate or serving piece you will use upside down on top of the cake pan, so that the face of the plate covers the open portion of the cake pan completely. Invert the plate and pan at the same time and place on a flat surface. Using pot holders, slowly raise the pan so that the cake stands upright on the serving plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar to decorate (optional)
Monday, September 28, 2009
135: Top speed of Formula 3 "chocolate" car
The British-designed car will make its competitive debut at Brands Hatch on October 17, with its creators confident that it will be able to hold its own against conventional racing cars.
This is truly the world's greenest car. The body of the World First Race Car is built from recycled carbon fiber left over from airplane production. Its steering wheel is made from "carrot fiber", cellulose nano-fibers extracted from the residue from a carrot soup factory. The car runs off biodiesel made from a mixture of chocolate waste and alcohol distilled from leftover wine, but has a top speed of 135 mph. It is capable of 170mph.
Read more here!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Chocolate Milk Day
Everyone knows that chocolate milk is a sweetened, cocoa-flavored milk drink that can be purchased pre-mixed or made at home. Lots of ways to make chocolate milk. Lots of different ingredients can be added.
Here's an easy chocolate milk recipe. As always, use the very best chocolate. Basically you make a chocolate syrup first, then add the milk.
Chocolate Milk
11 ounces milk
1 ounce water
1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa
2 tablespoons sugar
Put sugar, cocoa, and water in microwavable 12 oz glass.
Microwave for 30 seconds or until sugar and cocoa dissolve.
Add cold milk and stir.
Want something a little more unusual? Sunset (1994) had a wonderful Ultimate Chocolate Milk Recipe (Nicaraguan Chocolate Milk). This is not a classic, but it might soon be for you. Preparation takes some time, so you won't be drinking this today.
Nicaraguan Chocolate Milk (Orchata de cacao)
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
2 cups (about 2/3 lb.) cocoa beans
4 cups water
3 cinnamon sticks (each about 3 in.), broken into 1-inch pieces
8 cups whole, low-fat, or nonfat milk
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup sugar
Ice (optional)
Place rice in a bowl, cover with cool water, and let stand to soften somewhat, to 24 hours; drain.
Place beans in a 9-inch metal baking dish. Bake in 500 degree oven 5 minutes. Shake beans. Continue to bake until beans smoke and some skins have split, 5 to 8 minutes longer.
In a blender, place half the rice, cocoa beans, water, and cinnamon. Whirl until ingredients are very finely pureed. Place a large, fine strainer over a bowl; pour cocoa mixture into strainer and stir to extract liquid. Discard residue. Repeat with remaining rice, cocoa, water, and cinnamon.
Rinse strainer, then line with a double thickness of damp cheesecloth. Pour cocoa liquid through strainer into a bowl, stirring to extract all liquid; discard residue.
To cocoa liquid, add milk, vanilla, and sugar; stir until sugar dissolves. Serve plain or over ice. If making ahead, chill, covered, up to 3 days. Stir to serve Makes about 10 1/2 cups, 10 servings.
Guinness: 250 years: Add Chocolate
I don't know how I missed the 250th anniversary of Guinness (September 24). My husband dropped the subject into conversation with our Irish friends over the weekend. On St. Patrick's Day I had a link to Chocolate Stout Cake and an easy recipe from the NYT for Chocolate Guinness Cake. Given that it's been 250 years, I thought I'd add some more links, news and recipes. And, of course, add chocolate!
Want to make Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes? Read this blog and recipe (Nigella Lawson) at PatentandthePantry .
More interested in ice-cream? The Kitchn has David Lebovitz's Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream recipe from The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas and Sweet Accompaniments.
In case you didn't know, Guinness has allowed the Irish Chocolate Company to manufacture a dark chocolate bar "Enhanced with the flavour of Guinness® Beer". Someone's been kissing the Blarney Stone because there is no percentage of cacoa listed and the Guinness is only 0.1%. It's available at the Guinness shops at the various Irish airports. Think of it as a souvenir. Chocablog reviews this bar.
Still interested in chocolate candy? A Bountiful Harvest makes Belgian Chocolate Truffles Infused with Real Draught Guinness. Available through Amazon.
So raise a glass to Arthur Guinness and eat or drink chocolate + Guinness! It's always Guinness time!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
National Pancake Day: Chocolate Chip
Here's a simple Chocolate Chip Pancake Recipe.
Pancake batter
Chocolate chips
Make a batch of your favorite pancake batter. For every cup of dry pancake mix, use 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Mix the batter. Stir in the chips. Lightly grease and heat the griddle or skillet. Pour a little less than 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake. When bubbles appear all over the uncooked side of the pancake, it's time to turn it over. Cook the second side until light brown.
or, if you don't have your own pancake recipe:
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
3 eggs, separated
4 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 2/3 c. buttermilk
1 1/3 c. chocolate chips
Put dry ingredients in bowl. Combine well beaten egg yolks with buttermilk and stir lightly into dry ingredients. Add chips. Stir in melted butter. Beat in stiffly beaten egg whites. Cook on griddle or in skillet. Makes 10-12 pancakes.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Chocolate & Migraines: Good News
For those of you who suffer with migraines or know someone who does, there's good news! Researchers from Missouri State University say an animal study shows that dietary supplements of cocoa might repress inflammatory responses in the brain linked to migraines.
I'm not surprised by this. Chocolate and red wine seem to be too food items that people think trigger migraines. However, whenever I get a migraine, I eat chocolate or drink red wine (if it's afternoon.. I still can't get past that) or drink a coke. It works for me.
This study on the benefits of chocolate and migraines was presented at the International Headache Society's 14th Congress in Philadelphia this month. Basically the result shows that consuming a diet enriched with 10 percent cocoa increased levels of anti-inflammatory compounds in the brain, as well as repressing levels of pro-inflammatory processes.
Considering that 36 million Americans have migraines, this is definitely good news.
Read more here.
So throw off the myth that chocolate causes migraines. It might be more about what's in the chocolate: how much sugar, milk, or additives. A different study showed that chocolate contains tyramine and phenylethylamine, and although that can trigger migraines, they are found in such low concentrations that it's very rare that chocolate alone can bring on a migraine.
Here's a list of Food Triggers according to Health.com. Before you blame the chocolate, check to see if you didn't have some cheese or raisins or bacon at the same meal.
Food triggers
Here's a partial list of major food triggers, according to the National Headache Foundation.
* Ripened cheeses (such as cheddar, Emmentaler, Stilton, Brie, and Camembert)
* Chocolate
* Marinated, pickled, or fermented food
* Foods that contain nitrites or nitrates (bacon, hot dogs) or MSG (soy sauce, meat tenderizers, seasoned salt)
* Sour cream
* Nuts, peanut butter
* Sourdough bread
* Broad beans, lima beans, fava beans, snow peas
* Figs, raisins, papayas, avocados, red plums
* Citrus fruits
* Excessive amounts (more than 2 cups total) of caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee, or cola
* Alcohol (including red wine and beer)
My migraine cures are listed as what can cause a migraine.
Chocolate is so good for you in so many ways!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Grand Marnier Hot Chocolate
This orange flavored liqueur mixed with hot chocolate is guaranteed to warm your spirit.
Some additions or alternatives: To spice this up, add 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to each mug. There are some great packaged hot chocolate mixes available, so choose your favorite or create from scratch. You can also mix some Grand Marnier into the whipped cream for a double treat! Another variation would be to use Kahlua in place of the Grand Marnier!
Serves 2
2-oz Grand Marnier
3 Cups Hot Chocolate (I like Scharffen Berger)
½ Cup whipping cream, lightly whipped
Cinnamon Sticks for garnish
1. Make the hot chocolate according to package directions (or follow your favorite recipe)
2. Pour one ounce of Grand Marnier into each coffee cup and fill the cup with hot chocolate
3. In a bowl lightly whip the fresh cream and spoon on top of the hot chocolate.
4. Insert a cinnamon stick in each cup and serve
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Guest Blogger Lesa Holstine with Buckeyes
Lesa Holstine whom I follow on Twitter and on her Blog Lesa's Book Critiques (Books and Authors, with an emphasis on Mysteries) just blogged on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen about her Buckeye Candy. I knew what a buckeye was, but not buckeye candy! Most of you know that I have cross-over passions for mystery and chocolate. So I was thrilled when Lesa Holstine who reviews just about everywhere and now for Mystery Readers Journal sent me a link to her guest blog on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. I knew she needed to be guest blogger here. It's all about the Chocolate! Her buckeye candy sound scrumptious.
DyingforChocolate welcomes Lesa Holstine and her Buckeye Candy.
Janet always has such wonderful chocolate recipes here, that it's an honor to include my Buckeye Candy recipe. I'm not really a cook. I'm a librarian, book reviewer and blogger at Lesa's Book Critiques. But, anyone can make this simple candy recipe. And, if you want a simple recipe that husbands and kids will rave about, one that tastes better than peanut butter cups, this is it.
I'm always surprised when people say they haven't heard of buckeyes. I'm originally from Ohio. I've lived in Florida and Arizona, and the only people I knew in both states who made buckeyes were from Ohio. If this isn't the state candy, it should be. But, first a little history.
The Ohio Buckeye tree is a deciduous tree from the Horsechestnut Family. The Forestry site for the State of Ohio says, "The name "Buckeye" was derived from the Native Americans who noticed that the glossy, chestnut-brown seeds with the lighter circular "eye" looked very similar to the eye of a buck (male) deer." They also roasted, peeled and mashed the buckeye nut which they called Hetuck into a nutritional meal. The poisonous and bitter taste can be eliminated by heating and leaching. But, remember, this is a poisonous nut! Some believe that the buckeye relieves rheumatism pain. The symbol of General William Henry Harrison's presidential campaign was a string of buckeyes and a log cabin decorated with raccoon skins. His campaign song called Ohio the bonnie Buckeye state, as a result citizens in Ohio became know as "Buckeyes ." On October 2, 1953 the buckeye tree officially became the state tree.
And, here's the sports connection. Ohio State teams are known as Buckeyes, and, OSU fans always say buckeyes are poisonous to Michigan Wolverines. (And, of course, Michigan fans say Buckeyes are just a bunch of nuts.) We even make necklaces out of buckeyes, and wear them on game day.
Naturally, the candy called buckeyes, that look like the nut, are popular throughout the state. And, those of us who love our Ohio State Buckeyes have taken the candy throughout the nation. Now, I have the chance to pass the recipe on to you.
You can find all kinds of recipes for them online. Here's the one my mother passed on to her daughters (all Ohio State fans).
2 sticks oleo (Some recipes say butter. I find the oleo keeps the peanut butter together better)
1 ½ cup peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
Mix together and roll into balls and dip in chocolate with a toothpick, leaving a little of the peanut butter showing. Mom melts the chocolate in a double boiler.
Chocolate mixture –
1/3 bar paraffin
1 2/2 c. chocolate chips
½ stick oleo
This gives a nice shiny color to the buckeyes, just like the nut. However, I do these the lazy way because I just can't keep those peanut butter balls on a toothpick. I refrigerate the dough so it sets, and then roll the dough in about 1 inch balls, and dip them in Baker's Dipping Chocolate, instead of using the chocolate mixture. They might not be quite as shiny, but the buckeyes are eaten just as quickly!
Makes about 4 dozen!
You can serve buckeyes on Saturdays at parties during football season. They also make a wonderful Christmas candy. Or, serve them at Halloween parties. If you want to make them look like eyeballs for Halloween parties, add black food coloring or chocolate chips for eyeballs. Even little black cats like Josh are interested in buckeyes.
I hope you try buckeyes. Your family will thank you for them.
And, I thank Lesa for her very 'enlightening' guest blog!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
White Chocolate Day: White chocolate Brownies with Macadamias
I prefer Askinosie White Chocolate. You'll really taste the difference. Their White Chocolate Bar is 34% Cocoa Butter made from Davao Philippine beans. Main ingredient is their white chocolate is the non-deodorized cocoa butter which is then pressed in their factory. They combine this with goat's milk powder and organic cane juice and then craft it for days in their 85-year old German melanguer. They are one of the only single origin white chocolates in the world!
Insane White Chocolate Brownies with Macadamias
1 cup unsalted butter
10 ounces white chocolate, broken into 1-in. pieces
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped (get the freshest*)
After preheating oven to 325 degrees, line bottom and sides of a 13"x 9"x 2" pan with aluminum foil, and lightly grease.
Coarsely chop the butter into Tablespoon-size chunks and place along with white chocolate pieces in double boiler. Cook slowly over low heat, stirring often, until mixture is smooth and without any chocolate lumps.
Once you've removed from the heat, stir in the sugar and vanilla; blend.
Beat eggs with a fork and add to chocolate mix and blend completely. Add flour and nuts, stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Place batter in the greased pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
This recipe from CDKitchen for Insane White Chocolate Brownies With Macadamias serves/makes 32
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Cheesecake Brownies
Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (I would use Philadelphia cream cheese)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1. Preheat oven to 325. Coat a 9-by-13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both long sides, then spray parchment.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cream butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until smooth. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat until incorporated.
3. Reserve 1 cup of dough; cover, and refrigerate. press remaining dough into bottom of prepared dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake until base is set and edges are puffed, about 25 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack
4. Mix cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and remaining egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread over cooled base; crumble reserve dough on top. Bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in dish on wire rack, then lift out using overhang. Cut into 24 squares. Squares will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.
I doubt this will last 3 days at my house! Thanks, Kaitlyn!!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Rosh Hashana Chocolate Chip Mandelbrot
Mandelbrot is very similar to biscotti in its twice baked. Chocolate Chip Mandelbrot is very special, and actually my favorite. O.K, technically it's not mandelbrot since the word itself mean almond bread, but adding the chocolate chips makes these heavenly. Sheryl Julian has a wonderful and easy recipe at the BostonGlobe. Read the entire article here.
Sheryl offers up some unusual tips and comments. Mandelbrot is usually baked in logs, then sliced crosswise, and the cookies are baked again on their sides to dry out. In this recipe, you spread all the batter on a baking sheet, and then cut the rectangle into bars after the first bake. Also before baking, Nussbaum sprinkles the top of the dough with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, which adds a great smell. She also adds more cinnamon after baking.
Do read the article in which Sheryl Julian attributes the recipe to Debra Nussbaum who attributes this recipe to Sandy Brenner. Each time someone bakes something is tweaked. Always experimenting, Sheryl Julian, herself, tried this recipe three times with different results.
Make Chocolate Chip Mandelbrot for a Sweet New Year!
Butter (for the pan) or margarine if you keep kashrut and want to serve after a meat meal
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten to mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) chocolate chips
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed with 3 tablespoons sugar (for sprinkling)
1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have on hand a rimmed baking sheet (11-by-17 inches) or jelly roll pan (10 1/2-by-15 1/2 inches). Butter the pan. If using the larger sheet, you'll need a 15-inch sheet of foil. Fold up the foil to make a thick 1-inch wide band; butter the band on one side.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. With a whisk, stir well to combine them.
3. In another larger bowl, combine the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Use a wooden spoon to stir them well. Add the flour mixture and stir until smooth.
4. Stir in the chips.
5. With a rubber spatula, spoon the batter into 6 mounds onto the baking sheet. With an offset metal spatula, spread the batter to cover the entire jelly roll pan or all but 2 inches of the larger sheet. The rectangle of dough will cover the smaller sheet (the dough is 10 1/2-by-15 1/2 inches) or almost all of the larger sheet (the dough is 11-by-15 inches). For the larger sheet, press the buttered side of the foil against the empty edge of dough to keep it in place.
6. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
7. Bake the dough for 20 to 25 minutes or until it is browned. Remove the sheet from the oven (leave the oven on).
8. Set the sheet on a rack to cool for 10 minutes.
9. Remove the foil band, if necessary, and trim that edge to make a straight side.
10. To make 64 short cookies: Make 7 horizontal cuts and 3 vertical cuts in the dough (you'll have 32 bars). Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the bars to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each rectangle vertically in half (to make 64 pieces); each bar is 1/2-inch wide.
11. To make 48 medium cookies: Make 7 horizontal cuts and 2 vertical cuts in the dough (you'll have 24 long bars). Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the bars to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each rectangle vertically in half (to make 48 pieces); each bar is 1/2-inch wide.
12. To make 32 long cookies: Make 7 horizontal cuts and 1 vertical cut in the dough (you'll have 16 long bars). Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the bars to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut each rectangle vertically in half (to make 32 pieces); each bar is 1/2-inch wide.
13. Return all the bars, cut sides up, to the baking sheet. It's OK to pack them tightly on the sheet. Bake the bars for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly toasted.
14. Leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin. Adapted from Debra Nussbaum
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Ghirardelli Chocolate Waffles with Top Chef Casey
I always love chef demos and this was filled with all the elements of San Francisco: crowds, wind and noise. Top Chef Casey did a great job interacting with the audience while working with what looked like a temperamental waffle maker. She shared lots of good tips like giving the waffle maker a quick spritz of non-stick organic canola oil. The first batch did stick a little but that was o.k. Smooth sailing really. All this took place while overlooking San Francisco Bay. Pretty cool.
I found a wonderful spot to stand... oh yes, all the seats were taken early, but I was up right up front on the side. Great for photos, easy to hear and see. The recipe for chocolate waffles was from The Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook. Surprisingly I didn't have this one in my collection. That was remedied when Casey started asking questions about Chocolate and Ghirardelli. First question: When was Ghirardelli chocolate started? Frank Price who leads our TeamBuilding Unlimited Chocolate Tours and Tastings came closest to the correct answer, and he won a copy of the cookbook! (the right answer was 1852) Cool. Of course, he gave it to me, hoping I would make something for him from the cookbook! A guy can dream...
Here's the recipe. Top Chef Casey also made the Chocolate Sauce. Delicious!
Chocolate Waffles (makes 6 servings)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs, separated
4 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cup Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Preheat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer's directions.
Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and salt and whisk to thoroughly mix. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg yolks, and oil. Add to the flour and whisk gently until just combined.
In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric beater at medium speed until they form soft peaks. Fold into the batter and mix in the chocolate chips.
Ladle one-third of the batter onto the center of the waffle iron. Close the top and cook until the waffle is crispy on both sides. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for cooling time. Serve immediately.
Drizzle with chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Sauce (make this first)*
4 oz Ghirardelli 70% Cacao Extra Bittersweet Chocolate baking bar, broken or chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
Combine the chocolate and cream in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until very smooth. Keep warm, or reheat before using.
What a great way to start the day!
Read an interview with Top Chef Casey Thompson on Serious Eats.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Chocolate & Brie Panini
Yum Sugar, one of my favorite food sites, modified this recipe, and I totally agree. Less chocolate is better as in the recipe below, so the chocolate doesn't overpower the cheese. As in all of the recipes, I recommend using the very best of all products. It really makes a difference--from the olive oil to the bread to the brie and chocolate.
A few other possibilities: try using ciabatta instead of sourdough. Don't have a panini press? You can make this as you would a grilled cheese sandwich. In a dorm? Try your iron as the press (you will need to clean it afterwards).
12 slices sourdough bread (try ciabatta if you want a change)*
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces Brie cheese, thinly sliced
10 ounces dark chocolate squares, chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
Preheat the panini grill.
Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Grill the bread slices until they begin to turn golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from the panini grill and place 2 ounces of cheese on 1 slice of bread (the bottom half), top the cheese with 1/4 cup chocolate chips, and a few leaves of basil. Top with another slice of bread. Continue with the remaining sandwiches.
Return the sandwiches to the panini grill until the chocolate begins to melt, about another 2 minutes.
Cut the sandwiches into 2-inch wide rectangles or small triangles and transfer to a serving platter.
photo: Food Network
Monday, September 14, 2009
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
I really like Recchiuti chocolate, and my company TeamBuilding Unlimited includes their shop in San Francisco on our Chocolate Tours and in our Chocolate and Bar to Bar to Bar Scavenger Quests.
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Yields: 24
1 cup organic unsalted peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
fine grain fleur de sel to finish cookies
While you're making them, the dough might seem a little different than what you're used to. It'll be more wet seem to fall apart a little bit. Don't worry. Once they're baked, everything falls into place and you'll really appreciate the flavor and consistency organic peanut butter gives these cookies.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line the bottoms of two 12-by-18-inch sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir the peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda and kosher salt until combined.
Stir in the chocolate and peanuts.
Using a small, greased ice cream scoop, measure out the dough in teaspoon sized balls.
Place the dough on the prepared pans, spacing them 2 inches apart.
Bake on the middle shelves of the oven, rotating the pans 180 degrees halfway through the baking time, until lightly golden and spread to a puffy mound, about 12 to 14 minutes.
Sprinkle lightly with fleur de sel.
Let cool completely on the pans on wire racks.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to week.
Hints from Michael Recchiuti:
1.Look for an organic peanut butter where peanuts are the only ingredient listed. These nut butters contain no added sugar and have a great mouthfeel. The peanuts used are generally of higher quality and have been roasted darker for a rich flavor.
2.Make sure to use a fleur de sel rather than a grey sea salt. Fleur de sel is an unprocessed salt, hand raked and harvested from the premium, top layers of salt beds in France. "Fleur de sel" translates to "flower of salt," which refers to the scent of violets the salt develops as it bleaches and dries in the sun. The flavor, like the aroma, is more floral and less briny than other sea salts.
Want more recipes for the Chocolate Obsessed? Chocolate Obsession Book: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor by Michael Recchiuti written with Fran Gage (Bread and Chocolate, Sweet Quartet). Order here. Price $30 and signed by Michael Recchiuti. (list price: $35). Go to the source!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
International Chocolate Day + National Peanut Day: Chocolate peanut Butter Martini
Since today is International Chocolate Day (September 13), it's not surprising that I'll be at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival celebrating. But September 13 is also National Peanut Day. My friend Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations suggested a combination of the two. I think I found it in the perfect Martini: A Reese's Pieces Martini!
The Chocolate Peanut Butter Gallery is a great site devoted to chocolate & peanut butter. The tagline is a site dedicated to the world's two best ingredients. If you like these two ingredients, you'll love this site! I found this recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Martini on their site. It's originally from The Polished Palate! FYI: Castries is a Peanut Rum Creme made of Madagascan vanilla, roasted peanuts, spices, cream and St. Lucian rum. Here's a review of Castries on Scottes' Rum Pages.
Peanut Butter Cup Martini
2 oz Castries
1 oz Godiva Chocolate Liquor
1 oz Super Premium Vodka
1. Shake vigorously over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass
2. Optional: Line the Martini glass with chocolate syrup for additional effect
Here's an entirely different recipe for another alcoholic beverage: Creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Martini from Karl McCall, Master Mixologist & Beverage Manager, at The Hotel Hershey. Did I mention that September 13 is also Milton Hershey's birthday? (1857-1945) So raise a glass!
2 ounces Three Olives Chocolate Vodka
3 ounces Castries Peanut Rum Creme
1 ounce Dekuyper Butter Shots Schnapps
Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
Want something non-alcoholic? Reese's Pieces are always good. And, The Peanut Butter & Co makes a Peanut Butter blended with rich chocolate that you can use for the kids' sandwiches (or you, yourself, can just eat it from the jar).
Two great food celebrations in one!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
National Chocolate Milkshake Day: September 12
Easiest way to celebrate is to mix a little Milk with Chocolate Ice-cream and Chocolate syrup and mix it well in your blender.
Or you can do Milk with Vanilla ice-cream and Chocolate syrup and blend.
Measurements are up to you, but I have a few quasi-measurements below for special chocolate milkshakes.
If you're absolutely Dying for Chocolate, use 1 cup chocolate ice-cream, 1/4 cup chocolate syrup and 1/2 cup chocolate milk!
A Chocolate Malted is a variation on your traditional chocolate milkshake. Add a tbsp of malted milk powder to milk, syrup and chocolate ice-cream and blend.
Like bananas? Chocolate Banana Milk Shake:
1 cup milk. 1 scoop banana ice-cream. 1 scoop chocolate ice-cream, 1/2 ripened banana and some chocolate syrup, and blend.
Jumping ahead to September 13: International Chocolate Day and National Peanut Day, celebrate all three holidays with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake.
Blend 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/2 cup chocolate syrup, 1/4 cup milk, 12 cubes ice. Blend until smooth. (Ice cubes instead of ice-cream).
Have a great day!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
New Bacon Caramel Toffee/Bacon Chocolate Martini
They call it addicting. Haven't tried it yet but I know it will be.
By the way, Vosges makes a Dark Chocolate Mo's Bacon Bar that is even better than the milk chocolate one... in my opinion.
Want to drink your chocolate and bacon? The Capitol Club in Seattle serves a mean Chocolate Bacon Martini! They use Godiva chocolate and bacon infused vodka and add a candied bacon garnish for a sweet finish. They also start with maple cured bacon and then candy it. My three favorites in one drink!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Flourless "Vegetarian" Brownies
I saw this recipe for Flourless Brownies on the WholeFoods website, and I must say these are pretty tasty. What's really nice is that these can be Gluten Free (depends on your chocolate) and Wheat Free (no flour). You can also substitute other products for eggs and sugar. O.K. there really is no such thing as a healthy brownie, but that's not why you're making them. What I really like about this recipe is that these are 'vegetarian' brownies because you add black beans!
Of course, I've made wine brownies (fruit brownies?) and bacon brownies, but that's another story....
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cane sugar
1/2 cup dark chocolate broken into small pieces
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and carefully stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Cool before cutting into squares.
Los Angeles Chocolate Salon
Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon
October 11, 2009, 11am - 5pm
Pasadena Center, Pasadena, CA
Discover, Savor & Taste Some of the Finest Chocolatiers & Wineries in Southern California
16,000 Square Feet, over Twice the Tasting Space as 2008!
Chocolate lovers, en garde! The 3rd Annual Los Angeles Luxury CHOCOLATE SALON on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at the Pasadena Center. Chocolate aficionados, fanatics, lovers and addicts can taste & experience the finest in artisan, gourmet & premium chocolate in one of the world's great culinary metropolitan areas.
The Third Annual Los Angeles Luxury CHOCOLATE SALON participants include over 30 chocolatiers, confectioners, wineries and other culinary artisans, such as: Choclatique, Happy Chocolates, Rushburn Toffee Co, The Tea Room chocolate, Quady Winery, Chocolatl, Jade Chocolates, San Francisco Toffee Company, CJ's Bitz and CJ's Stix, Marti Chocolatt, Alter Eco Fair Trade Chocolate, Artisan Cocoa / Amella Caramels, AF-squared Chocolatiers, Brown Sugar Pastries, Clarine's Florentines, Helen Grace Chocolates, Mignon Chocolate, TCHO, Amano Artisan Chocolate, Landrin, Sterling Confections, Chocoveda, Republica Del Cacao, Dove Chocolate Discoveries, Valerie Confections, Plush Puff Gourmet Marshmallows, The Chocolate Traveler, Ococoa chocolates, Tifa Chocolate, Sweet Beauty Organic Chocolate Spa, Xocai Chocolate, Zhena's Gypsy Tea, Le Creuset, Swissmar, Putumayo World Music, Chocolate Television, TasteTV, Yelp, California School of Culinary Arts - Le Cordon Bleu Programs, Edible Los Angeles Magazine, and many more. All this in 16,000 square feet, over twice the delicious tasting space as 2008
Salon highlights features over 30 chocolatiers and confectioners, with chocolate tasting, demonstrations, chef & author talks, wine tasting and ongoing interviews by TasteTV's Chocolate Television program. (Salon Entry includes all chocolate & wine tastings, demos, etc.).
New this year: The Chocolate Chef Competition, pitting the design skills of pastry chefs against the demands of high fashion Plus, the V.I.C. Lounge (V.I.C. - Very Important Chocolate lover).
Purchase tickets here.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Chocolate Chocolate Pizza
Amore makes some great chocolate pizzas: 6" or 8" Peanut Butter Dreams Chocolate Pizza is composed of two chocolate layers with a layer of peanut butter in between and garnished with peanut butter morsels and white chocolate. Other flavors include Break-a-leg Chocolate Pizza, Smore Amore chocolate Pizza, Toffeelicious Chocolate pizza. Available from iBuyGourmet.com
Are you located in the UK? Try The Gourmet Chocolate Pizza Company. They have lots of gourmet toppings, such as Gone Nuts, Jellybeans, Heavenly Honeycomb (Belgian milk chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate covered honeycomb balls, vanilla fudge, milk chocolate curls to finish.) They also have Celebration pizzas, but their footballs are shaped like soccer balls. Yes, I know it's a different sport. National delivery to most UK mainland destinations. International Delivery, please contact them.
Monday, September 7, 2009
National Salami Day: September 7
Today is National Salami Day, and if you've been reading this Blog, you know there's such a thing as a Chocolate Salami (May 7, 2009). It's completely vegetarian, although not vegan. However, my friend Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations, not only told me about today's holiday, but led me to a website with a totally different recipe for a chocolate salami from Italian Kitchen Secrets. Why not make both? Try them on family and friends and let me know what you think.
Chocolate Salami Dessert (Salame al cioccolato)
Don't forget to check out the other recipe for Chocolate Salami. It contains Port wine, almonds, cranberries and pistachios. I think the pistachios give it a 'genuine' look.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
International Bacon Day: Add chocolate
So I thought I'd do a round-up of some of the bacon recipes I've blogged about here on DyingforChocolate and link to a few more.
Overall introduction to chocolate and bacon including chocolate covered strips of bacon and more.
Bacon Brownies
Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bacon Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
Dark Chocolate and Bacon Cupcakes
Simplified Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar
No time to bake? Check out your local chocolatier today for Bacon + Chocolate:
Socola has a beer and bacon truffle set.
Vosges has its great Mo's Bacon Bar
And there are many others.
I've also had several chocolate panini recipes over the last few months. Vosges has a lot of wonderful recipes, but this one is perfect for today's holiday, especially because it uses their Mo's Bacon Bar (I would use the dark).
Mo's Milk or Dark Bacon Bar Panini from Katrina Markoff's Peace and Love Blog (Vosges)
Yields One Sandwich
Equipment needed: Panini press or waffle iron
2 Italian country bread slices about 4-5 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick
2 tbsp Sea salted butter, French brand, Isigny Ste Mere or make your own by mixing 1/2 tsp Maldon salt and 2 tbsp of a fabulous butter
Pinch Maldon salt
2 squares Vosges' Mo's Milk or Dark Bacon Bar
2 strips of crispy bacon (this is optional, but I think you should put it in)
Spread butter on all sides of the bread. Place bacon bar squares on one piece of bread, followed by strips of bacon if you are using them and a sprinkle of salt. Place other piece of buttered bread on top and press with Panini press until golden brown.
Make sure your bread doesn't have many gaping holes or your fillings may seep through and burn.
If you don't have a Panini press substitute with a waffle iron.
Make sure the bread you use isn't overly crusty or it may cut your mouth a bit when pressed. At the same time don't choose a overly soft bread not a good quality sign either and it won't have the rigidity. Try a crusty ciabatta or italian peasant bread.
Have a great International Bacon Day!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Chocolate Pizza
Giada De Laurentiis's recipe for Chocolate Pizza is the best! It's posted on the Food Network website and Epicurious. The first recipe calls for a 9" pizza and the other 11" but that's the difference between thin crust and thick, I guess! It's simple to prepare, and you always have the choice of making your own pizza dough or purchasing it. I've blogged about bread and chocolate before, but add this one to that list.
1 pound homemade pizza dough or purchased pizza dough
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or broken up chocolate)
2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips (broken up chocolate)
2 tablespoons white chocolate chips (broken up chocolate)
2 tablespoons chopped hazelnuts, toasted
Position the oven rack on the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out the dough to a 9-inch-diameter round.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.
Using your fingers, make indentations all over the dough.
Brush the dough with melted butter, then bake until the crust is crisp and pale golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Immediately spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread over the pizza then sprinkle all the chocolate chips over.
Bake just until the chocolate begins to melt, about 1 minute.
Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts over the pizza.
Cut into wedges and serve.
And, if you want to make your own dough, go here for Giada's pizza dough recipe.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Pain au Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
I spend a lot of time at Serious Eats, and lucky for me and now you, they featured the following recipe for Pain au Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls from French Revolution. So not only did I find a great recipe, but I have a new Blog to follow. You'll want to do that, too. Kerry at The French Revolution kindly permitted me to re-blog her recipe. I can't thank her enough. This is so great!
This is a great and easy recipe, especially because you can use store-bought pastry.
Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls with Crème Fraîche Icing and Walnuts
Makes one dozen
1/4 cup white sugar1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 sheets bought frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, cooled
6 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I use broken up dark organic fair trade chocolate)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 tablespoon half and half
Kerry's Note on Some Ingredients:
Think ahead when using bought puff pastry. The best way to do so is by tossing the pastry from the freezer to the fridge before you go to sleep. It will be perfect in the morning.
To toast nuts, scatter the nuts on a baking sheet and place them in an oven between 300 and 350°F for 10 minutes. You can also toast them in a dry pan. When you can smell them and they begin to get golden cheeks, they're ready.
If you're using chocolate chips, make sure they are a great quality dark chocolate chips. You'll notice the difference. They are the star of the show. (I use broken up chocolate pieces, but then there's always extra chocolate around-Janet)
You can make your own crème fraîche cheaply at home, simply stir together equal parts heavy cream and sour cream, and let stand in the fridge overnight.
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a small bowl, combine the 2 sugars and the cinnamon.
3. Roll out both sheets of puff pastry slightly, into two identical squares. Brush the pastry all over with the cooled melted butter.
4. Scatter half the cinnamon sugar all over one puff pastry square, and the other half all over the other. Do the same with the walnuts, and the chocolate chips or pieces.
5. Roll the sweetened puff pastry squares up into logs, as if you were making a jelly roll. Using a serrated knife, trim just the edges off the sides of the logs. Then cut each log into 6 identical Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls.
6. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Into each muffin cup, place one cinnamon roll, swirl-side up. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check them at 25 minutes, and they should be golden and puffed. If not, allow them to go for a few more minutes, but you want to pull them before golden turns to brown.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, crème fraîche, and half and half until the glaze has a smooth, even consistency. Set aside.
8. When the cinnamon rolls are done in the oven, transfer them to a plate and allow them to cool slightly. When they are still warm, but no longer hot, drizzle the crème fraîche icing all over the tops of the Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls. Allow the glaze to set for about 5 minutes, and serve still warm.
Is this not divine? I'm just dying for them now!About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way. She also writes the The Secret Ingredient series for Serious Eats.
This recipe above appeared on Serious Eats and on the original site French Revolution (French Food for the Au Courant Kitchen) here. Reprinted with permission.
Photo copyright French Revolution
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"Hubby Hubby" celebrates Gay & Lesbian Marriage
Ben & Jerry's Renames Legendary Flavor to Celebrate Freedom to Marry:
"Chubby Hubby" will be "Hubby Hubby," for the Month of September to Celebrate Gay and Lesbian Couples Getting Married in Vermont!
BURLINGTON, Vt. Ben & Jerry's, known for its euphoric ice cream flavors and dedication to social justice, celebrates the beginning of the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples in Vermont with the symbolic renaming of its well-known ice cream flavor "Chubby Hubby" to "Hubby Hubby." In partnership with Freedom to Marry, Ben & Jerry's aims to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality and, to show its support, will serve "Hubby Hubby" sundaes in Vermont Scoop Shops throughout the month of September.
Ben & Jerry's has a long history of commitment to social justice, including gay rights. Its partnership with Freedom to Marry, a national leader in the movement for marriage equality, aims to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality and to encourage other states to follow the blazing trails of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Maine. Freedom to Marry promotes the national conversation about why marriage equality matters and brings together partner organizations into a larger whole – a shared civil rights campaign.
To kick off the celebration, Ben & Jerry's and Freedom to Marry will be publicly supporting the first marriages of gay and lesbian couples in Vermont and raising awareness for marriage equality and how to take action by driving consumers to freedomtomarry.org. By logging onto the site, people can show their support, sign a Marriage Resolution Petition, have conversations about why marriage matters and learn more about how they can support the cause.
For more information on why marriage equality matters and to take action in your state, please log on to freedomtomarry.org. To find your local Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop or learn more about Ben & Jerry's social mission, log onto www.Facebook.com/benjerry.
Hubby Hubby is a union of Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream, Fudge and Pretzels.
Chocolate Mint Geranium: Chocolate Scented Garden
Today I found a great Geranium Blog and specifically found a good account of Chocolate Mint (Mentha piperita) throughout its growth cycle. This beautiful fuzzy leafed geranium has a strong chocolate-y mint scent. It also has a lovely leaf that varigates during the cooler weather. The flowers are tiny and pink. It can be hung in baskets or put in large containers since it tends to cascade.
I live in a temperate climate, so it can be put directly into the soil of my garden, along with the other 'chocolate' plants.
I did mention this plant in my blog, but I love these photos. O.K. smelling chocolate is not the same as eating chocolate, but it's still fun!


text: SMP expressed shock over the way the Central Government is dealing with the case of death of Rohith Vemula within the hostel premises of Hydrabad Central University. He expressed that HRD Minister Ms. Samriti Irani and Minister of Labour & Employment Mr. Bandaru Dattatrey are allegedly involved in the suicide/murder of Rohith Vemula but they are still enjoying their positions and power as well as trust of the Prime Minister Mr. Narender Damodar Dass Modi. Even the Prime Minister didn't utter a single word for about 22 days who otherwise is very vocal on petty issues. There are thousands of such cases happened after India got independence because the Fundamental rights provided to the SCs, STs, OBCs & Converted Minorities by Baba Saheb Dr. B. R. Ambedker couldn't be digested by the so called upper castes in this country.


text: One of a kind Christmas ornament, hand painted with an original henna design. The acrylic paint is applied from a cone, using the same technique as henna body art. The large bronze and gold glass ornament is done one at a time, no 2 are alike. Makes a wonderful housewarming or holiday gift, and will become a treasured Christmas decoration. Custom design and color combinations welcome, please contact me for customization!


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Machine Safety: Does sustainability matter?
Effective, sustainable machine safety programs often contain these five high-level characteristics. Also see two more possible components of successful programs. These may help with your machine safety program's consistency and focus over time.
Sustainability and company DNA (or company culture) are often thought of as somewhat analogous terms. Both terms suggest consistency over time, durability and the ability to endure. If so, how would you define your machine safety program's consistency and focus over time? Need help? See below for five high-level characteristics (and two more possible components) of effective, sustainable machine safety programs.
Sustainable machine safety programs help produce sustainable businesses. Why? Because safety pays! There are numerous testimonials today supporting the claim that safety pays because every dollar saved in a safety initiative goes directly to the bottom line. So, it looks like sustainability does matter but what are the key ingredients of an effective sustainable machine safety program?
In my opinion, there are at least…
5 high level characteristics of effective, sustainable machine safety programs
- A top down/bottom up corporate safety culture which includes; vision, goals, solutions, commitments, measurements and resources.
- A safety management system, which includes programs such as:
- Management of change
- Fire and explosion safety
- Machine safeguarding
- Hazardous energy control
- Electrical safety-related work practices
- Fall protection
- Ergonomics
- Occupational hygiene control
- Personal protective equipment
- Respiratory protection
- Hearing loss prevention, among others.
- A reporting process which embraces open acceptance and organizational feedback for safety hazards.
- Documentation and archiving methodologies.
- Open and accurate "report out" practices to employees including topics like trending, accident incidence, OSHA recordables, goals, best practices, confidential contact information, etc.
Two elements of a sustainable program
I believe an example sustainable machine safety program might include:
Goal – zero workplace fatalities
Vision – to become recognized by stakeholders as a global sustainability leader in occupational health and safety (OH&S). To accomplish this we must:
- Learn from any failures in our safety systems and processes
- Prevent fatalities, injuries and illnesses through a strong safety culture
- Build capability in all of our team members through education and practical training.
Your comments or suggestion are always welcome so please let us know your thoughts. Submit your ideas, experiences, and challenges on this subject in the comments section below.
Related articles:
Risk Assessment – A Best Practice For Sustainable Performance
Machine Safety – where do effective safety cultures roost?
Machine Safety – the myths of safety cultures.
Effective Safety Cultures: Myths, Magic, and Reality, Earl Blair
Safety Culture: A Model for Understanding and Quantifying a Difficult Concept
Contact: https://www.jbtitus.com for "Solutions for Machine Safety".
Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.


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Sun Microsystems wanted $30 million to $50 million from Google for a Java license, but Google decided to build its own implementation for Android after negotiations broke down, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt reportedly said during testimony in the Oracle/Google trial today.
Jurors were shown an e-mail exchange between Schmidt and Jonathan Schwartz, the two CEOs of Google and Sun at the time Google developed and released Android. The e-mails showed the companies discussing a potential partnership between Google and Sun. Google didn't object to the amount of money Sun wanted, but it didn't want to give up too much control over Android.
"We would have paid that," Schmidt said of the $30 million to $50 million, according to our sister site Wired.
Instead of taking a Java license, Google began developing Dalvik, a "clean room implementation" that would be compatible with Java without using its code.
"We began a clean room implementation. A clean room implementation is what was developed, and uses a completely different approach internally" than Java, Schmidt said, according to a liveblog of his testimony posted by The Verge.
Oracle, which now owns Sun, accuses Google of violating Java copyrights and patents, and is seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages plus future royalties from Android revenue. While Oracle has accused Google of copying source code, Schmidt said Android "implements the language and implements the APIs but does not use the Java source code."
Oracle spent part of its time questioning Schmidt by "hammering Schmidt on the fact that there was no documentation of Sun's approval," The Verge reports.
Although negotiations did not result in a deal, Schmidt said Sun publicly supported Android at the time of its launch and that Schwartz "orally" communicated to him that Sun did not oppose the way it was implemented.
"I was very comfortable with what we were doing was both legally correct given the licenses or lack of licenses at the time," Schmidt said.
Schmidt said Google did not need a license to use Java, because "in general languages are usable because ... languages are usually in the public domain or they've been released. Sun's goal was always to make it as available as possible."
Schmidt knows a bit about Sun, having worked for the company between 1983 and 1997. Judge William Alsup wondered why Google bothered making a clean room implementation if a Java license wasn't even necessary. According to The Verge's liveblog, Schmidt explained that Google needed its own implementation so it could make the Android source code public, allowing developers to find bugs.
The trial began in US District Court in San Francisco last week, and is expected to last eight weeks. This first phase is dealing with Oracle's copyright accusations, while a second phase will deal with patents. Several big names in tech have already taken the stand, including Android founder Andy Rubin, Google CEO Larry Page, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. With the conclusion of Schmidt's testimony, Oracle has rested its case in the copyright portion of the trial, Wired said.


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Miranda Lambert Previews 'Over You,' Song About Blake Shelton's Brother
Miranda Lambert says one song on her new album reduced her and husband Blake Shelton to tears. The couple co-wrote 'Over You' about the death of Shelton's brother who was killed in a car crash in 1990. It's the second of five songs Lambert is previewing from her new 'Four the Record' album.
Us Weekly exclusively premiered the song on Tuesday. Much like 'Fastest Girl in Town,' the song will be available all week with fans who listen to all five having a chance to win a flyaway to one of Lambert's upcoming concerts.
"But you went away / How dare you / I miss you / They say I'll be OK / I'm not going to ever get over you," Lambert sings during the chorus. The song will be difficult for anyone who's recently lost a loved one to get through. Actually, it's difficult for anyone who hasn't lost a love one to get through, too.
"Livin' alone here in this place / I think of you and I'm not afraid / You're favorite records make me feel better / Cause you sing along with every song," she sings during the second verse. In an interview with Taste of Country, Lambert said this song is strongly being considered as the follow up single to 'Baggage Claim.'
She told Us Weekly that Shelton didn't want to put it on his album. "He said he'd rather me have it," she says, "mainly because he wasn't sure he could get through it every night onstage. It's one of our favorite songs."


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(SportsNetwork.com) - As noted by San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh, December games count for just as much as contests from earlier in the season.
But with the reigning NFC champions in a tight battle for a playoff spot, the 49ers' games this month certainly come with added pressure.
After picking up a victory last weekend over one of the top teams in the conference, San Francisco tries to stretch its winning streak to four straight games this Sunday as it visits the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Back-to-back losses in mid-November by the Niners opened the door for the Seattle Seahawks to build an advantage atop the NFC West. San Francisco, though, closed out the month with a win at Washington and has bested St. Louis and Seattle at home to begin December.
The 49ers' 19-17 win over the Seahawks, who have already clinched a playoff spot, prevented Seattle from clinching the division. At 9-4, San Francisco is two games back of the Seahawks with three games to play.
The Niners and Carolina Panthers own the conference's two wild card spots with matching records. The Arizona Cardinals are a game back at 8-5, while Chicago and Dallas are two games off the pace.
"Well, win the next game," said Harbaugh when asked of his club's goals. "Win games in December. Those count just as much as the other games do. But, where we're at we've got to win football games."
The 49ers can clinch a playoff spot this weekend with a victory and a loss by Arizona and Dallas, or a win and a loss by the Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles.
San Francisco rode the leg of kicker Phil Dawson in last Sunday's win as he was good on all four of his field goal attempts. That includes the game- winning 22-yarder with 26 seconds left that was set up by Frank Gore's 51-yard run.
Dawson has converted each of his past 20 field goal attempts, a franchise record.
Gore rushed for 110 yards and Colin Kaepernick threw for 175 yards on 15-of-29 passing. He was picked off once and also found tight end Vernon Davis for an eight-yard touchdown pass as the Niners won for the eighth time in their last 10 games.
"We still have a lot to learn, but that's a good thing. Beating a team like Seattle and still not playing our best game, that's great," said Gore. "We knew it was going to be a tough game. We both know each other and I'm happy we got the job done."
The Buccaneers were able to get the job done last Sunday in a 27-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Running back Bobby Rainey broke off an 80-yard touchdown run just 18 seconds into the game and the defense came up with seven sacks and four interceptions.
Rainey rushed for 127 yards in all and set a club record for quickest score ever at the beginning of a game.
"It's always great to go down in history, but just got to move forward and worry about the next game now," said the running back. "Right now I'm going to enjoy it and then it's back to work for 49ers next game."
Thanks to the solid defensive effort, led by linebacker Lavonte David's nine tackles, one sack and two interceptions, the Buccaneers won for the fourth time in five games following an 0-8 start despite quarterback Mike Glennon completing just 9-of-25 pass attempts for 90 yards. He did manage two touchdown passes and was also intercepted twice.
The victory was Tampa Bay's third straight at home and it will close out its 2013 schedule at Raymond James Stadium before ending the season with games at St. Louis and New Orleans.
"Good team victory, one that the guys will enjoy here and then we've got a huge challenge to try to win four straight at home here to end the season. That's something that our players really want to do and we've got to work to get that accomplished." said Tampa Bay head coach Greg Schiano.
The Buccaneers have lost three of their last four versus the Niners, including a 48-3 setback in the most recent meeting on Oct. 9, 2011 in San Francisco.
However, the Bucs won 35-3 the last time the clubs met in Tampa on Nov. 21, 2004.
The 49ers didn't have the best of offensive showings last weekend, notching just 318 net yards of offense, but the defense held the Seahawks to 264 yards in total and its third-ranked ground game to just 86.
Linebacker NaVorro Bowman led the Niners with nine tackles and also had a sack and forced fumble. He is fourth in football with 120 tackles and his sack was his fourth of the season.
Overall, San Francisco is ranked third in the NFL with 16.5 points allowed per game and fourth in total defense at 308.0 yards allowed per game.
Led by Gore, the Niners' sixth-ranked ground game (133.2 YPG) totaled 163 yards versus the Seahawks to offset Kaepernick's struggles. Though held without a rushing touchdown, San Francisco is still tied for second in the league with 16 rushing TDs, eight of those by Gore, who is 69 yards shy of his seventh career 1,000-yard rushing season.
When Kaepernick is on point, he is usually looking towards Davis and wide receiver Anquan Boldin. The duo have combined to catch all 16 of Kaepernick's touchdown passes this season, with Davis hauling in 11 of them.
Davis, second on the club with 44 receptions and 726 yards, has caught a scoring pass in four straight games and ranks eight among tight ends all-time with 51 TD receptions.
Kaepernick and his receivers will have to keep their eye on Bucs safety Dashon Goldson, a hard-hitter who made two Pro Bowls while spending his first six seasons with the Niners. He signed a reported five-year, $41.25 million deal with Tampa Bay in the offseason.
"Dashon's a great player, does a lot of great things. Has a lot of range on the back end," said Kaepernick of his former teammate, who has 57 tackles and an interception in 10 games this season, missing a Nov. 24 tilt versus Detroit while serving a one-game suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit against Atlanta the previous weekend.
San Francisco will also have to be aware of David, who himself is putting together an excellent season. He ranks just behind Bowman in tackles with 117 and has logged six sacks and five interceptions this season.
David, in his second season out of Nebraska, is one of only four players in NFL history to record six sacks and five picks in the same season and the first linebacker.
"I think he is playing as well as any linebacker in the league, I really do," said Schiano. "He does everything: tackle, (defend the) pass, blitz. There's nothing that guy can't do. He's a really fine football player and, as I've said before, just even a better person. You can't ask for a better work ethic, everything about the guy. He's special."
David is aiming to become the second player in Bucs history to record an interception in four straight games, joining defensive back Harry Hamilton in 1988.
The Bucs rank first in the NFL with 21 interceptions and 29 takeaways, and are second with a plus-13 turnover differential. They have multiple takeaways in four consecutive games and are looking to have a string of five straight in the same season for the first time since Nov. 16-Dec. 14, 2008.
Seven different Tampa Bay players were credited with at least a half sack versus the Bills, with defensive end William Gholston leading the way with 1 1/2. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy added his club-high seventh sack as well.
Tampa Bay's offense ranks 31st with 291.5 YPG and is 30th in scoring just 18.8 points per game, but Rainey has been a jolt to the system. In his past three home games, he has notched five total touchdowns and 335 rushing yards.
The 49ers certainly breathed some life into their playoff chances with last weekend's win over the Seahawks, but may have trouble mustering up the same amount of energy of this contest.
"Every game's a challenge. Every game's a big task," said Harbaugh. "Tampa's playing extremely good football right now. I've been following them the last month, playing good ball. ... The players are making their bodies feel better and coaches have been game planning. We're moving onto the next one."
Teams usually have trouble traveling from coast-to-coast and the 49ers certainly had their issues the last time they went to Tampa. But Tampa's offense struggled last weekend against a team that can bring pressure and the Niners can do much of the same while getting enough from their offense in the process.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: 49ers 23, Buccaneers 13


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MEDINA, Ohio, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The three women, who spent more than a decade held hostage by Ariel Castro, were honored Monday by Ohio Gov. John Kasich during his State of the State address.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were on hand to receive the 2014 Ohio Courage medals for their strength and determination over the years of their ordeal.
"No one rescued them," Kasich said. "They rescued themselves. First by staying strong. Then by sticking together."
Castro held the three women captive in his home in Cleveland, often keeping them in chains and abusing them physically and sexually. They were rescued in May 2013, when Berry shouted through a locked door to get the attention of neighbors; after she broke out and called police, Knight and DeJesus were rescued from inside.
In August, Castro was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years for his crimes, but hanged himself in his cell on September 3.
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- Snake Salvation pastor's son to carry on tradition


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Transplant of patient-derived stem cells into mice with muscular dystrophy
28 June 2012
Stem cells from patients with a rare form of muscular dystrophy have been successfully transplanted into mice affected by the same form of dystrophy, according to a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine.
For the first time, scientists have turned muscular dystrophy patients' fibroblast cells (common cells found in connective tissue) into stem cells and then differentiated them into muscle precursor cells. The muscle cells were then genetically modified and transplanted into mice.
The new technique, which was initially developed at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute of Milan and completed at UCL, could be used in the future for treating patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (a rare form in which the shoulders and hips are primarily affected) and, possibly, other forms of muscular dystrophies.
Muscular dystrophies are genetic disorders primarily affecting skeletal muscle that result in greatly impaired mobility and, in severe cases, respiratory and cardiac dysfunction. There is no effective treatment, although several new approaches are entering clinical testing including cell therapy.
This is a major proof of concept study. We have shown that we can bypass the limited amount of patients' muscle stem cells using induced pluripotent stem cells and then produce unlimited numbers of genetically corrected progenitor cells.
Dr Francesco Saverio Tedesco
In this study, scientists focused on genetically modifying a type of cell called a mesoangioblast, which is derived from blood vessels and has been shown in previous studies to have potential in treating muscular dystrophy. However, the authors found that they could not get a sufficient number of mesoangioblasts from patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy because the muscles of the patients were depleted of these cells.
Instead, scientists in this study "reprogrammed" adult cells from patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy into stem cells and were able to induce them to differentiate into mesoangioblast-like cells. After these 'progenitor' cells were genetically corrected using a viral vector, they were injected into mice with muscular dystrophy, where they homed-in on damaged muscle fibres.
The researchers also showed that when the same muscle progenitor cells were derived from mice the transplanted cells strengthened damaged muscle and enabled the dystrophic mice to run for longer on a treadmill than dystrophic mice that did not receive the cells.
Dr Francesco Saverio Tedesco, UCL Cell & Developmental Biology, who led the study, said: "This is a major proof of concept study. We have shown that we can bypass the limited amount of patients' muscle stem cells using induced pluripotent stem cells and then produce unlimited numbers of genetically corrected progenitor cells.
"This technique may be useful in the future for treating limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and perhaps other forms of muscular dystrophy."
Giulio Cossu, another UCL author, said: "This procedure is very promising, but
it will need to be strenuously validated before it can be translated into a
clinical setting, also considering that clinical safety for these
"reprogrammed" stem cells has not yet been demonstrated for any disease."
Images: (Top) Immunofluorescence staining of the progenitor cells derived from the pluripotent stem cells generated from one of the patients. Specifically, myotubes (the counterpart of muscle fibres in a dish) from differentiated progenitor cells. Red: myosin heavy chain; blue: nuclei. (Bottom) Muscle progenitor cells (green) in vivo in a muscle three weeks after transplantation in dystrophic mice.
Credit: Francesco Saverio Tedesco
Media contact: Clare Ryan
UCL Cell & Developmental Biology
Science Translational Medicine
UCL Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative


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AES San Francisco 2010
Workshop W15
Saturday, November 6, 3:45 pm — 4:45 pm (Room 130)
W15 - Semantic Audio Success: Commercial Applications of Semantic Audio Analysis
Jay LeBoeuf, Imagine Research
Ching-Wei Chen, Gracenote, Inc. - Emeryville, CA, USA
Aaron Master, SoundHound Inc
Erling Wold, Audible Magic
Thanks to mobile devices, cloud-computing, and ample storage and computing, we are now seeing a great dawn of products that include semantic audio analysis (SAA) technologies. Without even knowing it, millions of users reap the benefits of semantic audio analysis on a daily basis. Companies include SAA techniques to provide their users with magical experiences: offering intelligent, simple, work flows that listen to and richly interact with a user's speech, music, or environment. This workshop will introduce AES members to some of the commercial uses and applications of semantic audio analysis. A panel discussion will engage companies to describe how SAA technology has powers their innovative products, the technical challenges that they face, and the future of things to come.


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I have animal-crazy daughters, a wonderful characteristic I attribute in part to awesome grandparents that think to buy them "animal things" before buying them "princess things." So I was thrilled to see a nice partnership between National Geographic and Pottery Barn Kids, which is helping to broaden kids' horizons and help some big, beautiful animals too.
National Geographic Pottery Barn Kids partnership is really nifty as an idea. While of course there are toys and books you can buy curated by National Geographic (I
love the look of that animals
activity tote) there are also online
activities and resources for kids including some educational quizzes,
videos, trading cards and free coloring page downloads around their Big Cats initiative.
The more kids know about the other citizens of our planet, the more they might be likely to help take care of them. Making nature fun seems like a decent place to start. –Liz
Learn more about the The
National Geographic Pottery Barn Kids partnership online at Pottery Barn Kids, and check out the next in-store National
Geographic Little Explorers event near you on November 19. Polar Bears!


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This years SVPCA meeting was organised by Gareth Dyke and his team and was held at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS), home of Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton. Situated on the bustling docks and surrounded by hulking container ships and the floating tower blocks that modern ocean liners all seem to resemble these days, this excellent facility is home to vertebrate palaeontology research in Southampton, located as it is close to the Jurassic Coast and the Isle of Wight.
Talking ankylosaurs at SeaCity before the auction |
Following hard on the heels of the Flugsaurier meeting the previous week in Portsmouth and with the SPPC preparators meeting the day before, delegates convened on Tuesday 1st September to hear three days of talks, attend two poster sessions and various social events. This year there were around 160 delegates attending, from emeritus professors to young palaeontologists, undergrads, postgrads, professional and amateur workers alike and palaeoartists were well represented. The SVPCA is always a more relaxing meeting than the SVP, less daunting to those giving their first talks and people there are always constructive with their advice.
The talks were of a high quality and despite being restricted to 15 minute slots for both talk and questions didn't seem rushed; the programme put together by Mark Young and Darren Naish contained a wide variety of talks that covered a satisfying wide variety of subjects. Even if a subject wasn't particularly relevant to your own research chances are you left a session having learnt something or been found something to inspire new thinking in some way. There were no major technical glitches (although the movies didn't work on my talk) and the sessions ran on time. There will be a special PeerJ volume based on papers arising from the meeting talks and posters, so if you did present it's time to get writing.
Conversations went on well into the night in the pubs near NOCS. The annual auction at SeaCity Museum raised a fantastic £1900 thanks to the sterling work of Jeff Liston as auctioneers as well as the SVPCA A Team of Jessica Lawrence Wujeck, Aubrey Roberts, James Hansford and Liz Martin-Silverstone. The conference dinner was held in a dockside Thai restaurant and was very enjoyable, although being the day before the field trip . . .
Delegates inspecting the Wessex Formation at Chilton Chine, Isle of Wight. |
The field trip was led by Steve Sweetman and visited Brighstone and Compton Bays where the group took a long walk down the beach to inspect the fossil-bearing strata of the Wessex Formation, some of the most productive dinosaur localities in Europe. Dinosaur bone, plant material and dinosaur footprints were found. Lunch was taken at The Wight Mouse Inn, a pub beloved of the many vertebrate palaeontologists who visit the island. The next stop was at Dinosaur Isle where delegates saw the museum and the team of Alex Peaker, Shaun Smith and Gary Blackwell retrieved specimens for closer inspection and photography.
Further reviews are here:
Liz Martin-Silverstone: http://gimpasaura.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/flugsaurier-and-svpca.html
Luis Rey: https://luisvrey.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/flugsaurier-and-svpca-2015-face-to-face-with-the-snake/
The next meeting will be hosted by Liverpool John Moores University, and I'm looking forward to it already. As one delegate said to me before leaving, "it's been inspirational". You can't really ask for more than that can you?


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Section Text
The metric system of measurement shall be defined as the International System of Units as established in 1960, and subsequently maintained, by the General Conference of Weights and Measures, and as interpreted or modified for the United States by the Secretary of Commerce.
Editorial Notes
CODIFICATION R.S. §3570 derived from act July 28, 1866, ch. 301, §2, 14 Stat. 339, 340.AMENDMENTS 2007—Pub. L. 110–69 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: "The tables in the schedule annexed shall be recognized in the construction of contracts and in all legal proceedings as establishing, in terms of the weights and measures on June 22, 1874, in use in the United States, the equivalents of the weights and measures expressed therein in terms of the metric system; and the tables may lawfully be used for computing, determining, and expressing in customary weights and measures the weights and measures of the metric system."


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Feeling brave and ready to strap on this jet pack? Well, that's not all of it. What you see above is just the manifold with two nozzles that can be aimed for control. The gas turbine engine that is being designed for the project will attach to the large circular coupling on top. The finished suit, called a Monocopter, should weigh in at about 265 pounds. That kind of weight makes us think they should include a robotic exoskeleton to help support it during takeoff, landing, and just when standing around. This thing already looks like it belongs to a villain from the Megaman series. Here's hoping it's used for good and not to help produce an army of mean robots.
[Thanks Rob]